It has been known for long time that the light beam emitted by a headlamp, such as a low beam or a high beam, may dazzle the driver because the light beam may reflect from elements of the scene that is illuminated by the headlamp. FIG. 1 illustrates this problem. Illuminated elements of the scene that are liable to reflect light in particular include natural elements such as raindrops or snowflakes. Furthermore, during periods of bad weather, the visibility of the driver is not satisfactory because of multiple reflections of the light emitted by his vehicle.
A known device for countering this problem is illustrated in FIG. 2. The device includes a video camera that detects raindrops, and the light beam of the two headlights is modified in order for the detected drops to no longer be illuminated. However, this solution is ineffective because the means that it implements do not allow an analysis in a sufficiently short time and hence the corrections made to the headlamps are no longer valid when made.
The aim of the present invention is to provide a solution that mitigates these drawbacks. More particularly, the invention aims to provide a device and a method for detecting and occluding reflective elements of a scene illuminated by headlamps that is simple and effective, and that allows the illumination of the scene to be rapidly corrected.